STACY BUMPS THE BUMPS
One by one the travelers were hauling the ponies up a steep mountain,
over which their course lay, four days after Tad had brought in the
antelope. They had eaten their fill of the meat, hiding the rest in case
they should by any chance come that way again.
The going had been worse than before. It could not have been tougher for
either man or beast. The mountain side up which they were struggling was
rough and rugged. A short distance to the right of them the quartz rock
was as smooth as polished marble save for a hummock here and there, some
of the latter smooth, others rough. Neither Pony Rider Boy nor pony
could have held his footing there for an instant.
After two hours' toil they got the last of the stock up, which in this
case was the pack mule. Ned pulled on the rope while Tad and Anvik
pushed. They were safe in doing so, for the mule could not kick without
going down altogether. Furthermore, it was as anxious as its helpers to
get to the top and have the disagreeable job over with. The result was
that all hands were pretty well fagged out by the time they got to a
level space from which their way led around the base of the higher
mountain.
"Now, Stacy, you haven't done much except to give us the benefit of your
advice, so take the mule over yonder and tether him where he can
browse," directed Butler. "Walter, did you tether the others?"
"I did."
"Come on, you lazy mule. I'm not going to tote you. You'll tote yourself
if you want a feed," growled Stacy, taking hold of the lead rope and
slouching off to the right. The bushes where they had placed the ponies
were about ten rods to the northward of the point at which the party had
landed. Stacy was apparently trying to see how near he could walk to the
edge without himself or the mule slipping down that glassy side of
granite-like rocks.
"Come along, you lazy cayuse," he yelled, giving the lead line a series
of tugs. It was like pulling on a dead weight, the pack mule being too
weary to hasten its lagging footsteps. Chunky turned around and taking
firm grip on the rope with both hands began to pull with all his might.
The mule braced himself. He resented this sort of treatment.
The halter suddenly slipped over the animal's head, and the pack mule
sat down heavily. So did the fat boy. Unfortunately for the mule it sat
down with its haunches slightly over the edge of the slope, and down it
went over the slippery surface.
"There goes the other mule!" yelled Walter Perkins.
"Fat boy him go, too," grunted Anvik.
They had failed to observe Stacy. What they were most interested in was
the sight of their pack mule sliding down the slope backwards in a
sitting posture. Alarmed as they were to see their stores disappearing,
the ludicrousness of the sight interested them. The mule came in contact
with one of the high places--a rocky bump, which bounced him up into the
air and turned him completely around. Down to the next obstruction the
animal traveled, principally on its nose.
Stacy Brown was only a few seconds behind the mule. The two had sat down
facing each other. The mule being the heavier had gone first and, when
once under way, his momentum carried him along with greater force and
speed.
With a wild yell, the fat boy, sprawling and struggling to catch hold of
something to stop his progress, began the descent. Below him he could
hear the rattle of tin cans, for the pack had broken open. It was
raining canned goods down there, but Stacy was not particularly
interested in this phase of the situation. He hit the bump over which
the pack mule had leaped, was hurled up into the air, where he did a
dizzy spin, then sat down with a force that for the instant knocked all
the breath out of him, and once more he shot towards the bottom.
"They'll both be killed!" cried the Professor in great alarm.
Tad, comprehending the scene in a twinkling, started on a run. Choosing
a point where there were no bumps in the way, he crept over and, sitting
on his feet, supported on each side by his hands, began a downward
shoot. But the freckle-faced boy did not long maintain that position. A
few seconds after starting he was flat on his back, going down feet
first at a speed that fairly took his breath away.
Ere he was half-way down, the mule had reached the end of its journey at
the bottom of the slope. Then Stacy Brown came along, but not much more
gracefully than the mule, and landed feet first on the animal. What the
slide and the bumps had failed to do for the unfortunate beast, Stacy
Brown did. He was a human projectile and the mule, that had got to its
fore feet, promptly lay down again under the impact. Chunky did a
graceful dive over the body of his prostrate enemy, landing on his
shoulders in a thicket.
"Stacy! Stacy!" yelled Tad as he reached the end of his own slide and
got to his feet. Tad had not been in the least injured by the fall.
"Stacy!"
"What do you want?"
"Are you hurt?"
"No."
"Then come and help me get the mule up."
"I can't."
"Why not?"
"I'm strung up."
Tad did not know what the trouble was, but he lost no time in getting to
his companion. Butler gazed, then he burst out laughing. Chunky lay on
his back on the ground, his eyes rolling. One foot was elevated as high
as it could reach and still permit the boy's body to remain on the
ground. The foot was caught in the crotch of a dwarfed tree, and was
wedged in tightly, too.
"Gracious! How did you ever manage to get into that scrape?" questioned
Tad between laughs. "Hey, Ned, is that you?" as a crashing in the bushes
was heard near at hand.
"Yes. I'm coming. Is Stacy hurt?"
"No, but come here quick. Here's a sight for you!"
Ned threshed his way to them, then he, too, burst out into a roar of
laughter.
"Ha, ha!" mocked Chunky. "That's right. Never mind me. I'm only the fat
boy, taken along to do stunts to make the rest of you laugh. I'm quite
comfortable, thank you. I can stand on my head here for any old length
of time. Have your laugh out, then shoot me! I don't want to die a
lingering death."
"I'll lift him up. You get the foot out, Ned," directed Tad.
This was not so easily accomplished. Butler tried different ways of
doing this, but each time the fat boy's yells made him stop short. Every
attempt to lift Stacy gave his foot a wrench, bringing forth a howl.
"Let me have your hatchet," demanded Tad. Ned passed it over.
"What are you going to do? Going to chop my leg off?" demanded Stacy.
"Don't worry. It won't hurt but a moment."
"Pro-o-o-o-fessor!"
"Keep still, you ninny! We aren't going to hurt you," growled Ned.
Tad was already hacking at the tree, which was small, but very tough.
Every blow brought a yell from the fat boy. He couldn't have made much
more racket had his companions in reality been amputating the leg
itself.
At last Butler had chopped through. He grabbed the tree, but Stacy,
jerking on his foot, pulled the tree right over on him, incidentally
throwing Tad down. Then Chunky let out a fresh series of howls as the
sharp sprouts smote him on the face and body. The foot, however, had
come free with the falling of the tree, but the boy still lay there
groaning, making no effort to help himself.
"Get up! You're all right," commanded Ned, jerking Stacy out by the
collar. "See what you've accomplished now. You have done for our last
mule. Had you not been along I don't believe the other one would have
fallen off the trail."
"That's right. Save the donk, but never mind a Stacy Brown. He's a good
joke, that's all," complained Stacy.
Tad had run to the pack mule which had got up, and was standing with
nose close to the ground.
"He isn't hurt," cried Tad. "He is all right, Professor," he called.
"Both mules are all right. Hooray!"
"Eh?" growled Stacy, flushing hotly.
Anvik, who had been making his way down by a more roundabout way, now
made his appearance. He grunted upon discovering the disheveled Chunky,
and shrugged his shoulders as he observed the display of tin cans strewn
about.
"Much heap big fool!" ejaculated the Indian.
"Are you addressing your remarks to me or to the mule?" demanded Stacy
calmly.
"Huh!" That was the only reply Stacy got, and Anvik began gathering up
the stuff that had been lost from the battered pack. This was no small
task, owing to the way the provisions had been scattered. Butler, in the
meantime, had gone over the pack mule carefully to see if there were any
serious injuries.
"He's a lucky mule," announced the lad. "There are no bones broken, but
I'll warrant he aches all over from the shaking up he has had. I shall
have to sew up that gash on his side when we get him up."
"Let's get started and boost him up, then," urged Rector.
"No, let the beggar rest. I haven't the heart to drag him up that
mountain again until he recovers from the shock. We'll tether him and
help Anvik get the provisions up first. Stacy, are you able to work?"
"What you want me to do?"
"Carry some of these stores up."
The fat boy shook his head.
"My weak heart won't stand it," he answered. Thrusting his hands in his
pockets he strolled off.
The two boys looked at each other and Tad shook his head hopelessly. Ned
picked up a stone and savagely shied it at a tomato can. It hit the can
and split it wide open.
"If you must give vent to your emotions I wish you would throw stones at
a tree, or at something that won't deplete our stores," suggested
Butler. "Now see what you've done."
Stacy had promptly rescued the split tomato can and carefully holding it
before him stepped gingerly over to a rock on which he sat down and
began eating of the contents of the can.
"I don't want to see. Stacy riles me so that I want to thrash him. I'll
do it some day, too!" threatened Ned.
Stacy paid no attention to Rector's threats, but having finally emptied
the can, he threw it at Ned, then began climbing the mountain to rejoin
the outfit.
It was all of two hours ere they finished their work of bringing the
damaged supplies up the mountain side. Then came a tug of war in getting
the mule up once more, the brute hanging back, the boys pulling and
pushing. The Professor had a new pack cover all cut and sewed by the
time they had finished. The boys decided to camp where they were for an
hour longer, then go on, making a late camp that afternoon, the days
being so long that this could be done without night traveling, which was
very perilous in that rugged section.
They finally took up their journey, making camp on a high plateau where
Tad was destined to make an important discovery before they set out on
the following day.